Leer conveyer



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LEER CONVEYER Filed March 18,

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Patented July 17, 1923.

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WALTER E. STERRETT, OF CARNEGIE, PENNSYLVANA, .ASSIGNOR TO H. L. DIXONCOM- l PANY, OF CARNES-IE, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

LEER CONVEYER.

Application led March 18, 1921. Serial No. 453,457.

To all whom t may concern: k

Be it known that I, WALTER RSTERRETT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Carnegie, in the county of Allegheny and State ofPennsylvania, have invented anew and useful Improvement in LeerConveyers, of. which the ollowingis a full, clear, and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, formingpart of 1o this specification, in which- Figure l is a transversersection, partly broken away, of aA leer embodying my invention;

Y Figure 2 is a plan view also partly broken l5 away, showing a portionof the conveyer;

Figure 3 is a. transverse section, partly broken away, of a conveyerembodying my invention, the plane of section being on the line III-IIIof Figure 4;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal section on the line` IV-*IV of Figure;

Figure 5 is a detail sectional view showone of the fastenings; igure 6is a plan view showing portions of two pan sections; and

Figure 7 is a diagrammatic view illustrati ing one manner in which themay adjust themselves. l

My invention has relation to conveyers for leers such as lass annealingleers; and is particularly a apted for use in extra wide leers.Heretofore considerable diliculty has been experienced in the operationof wide leers. In such leers the oonveyer pans tend to sag geatlyatthemiddle portions thereof, and 1t as been dilicult to provide asatisfactory support at such portions. The ordinary supportingcastor-wheels which have been provided are objectionable in that, owingto the warpingac'tion of the heat on the tracks, as well as upon thepans, the supporting wheels cannot be kept in contact COIlVeyeI' panswith the track, the usual result being that some of the wheels at leastare in contact only part of the time. Furthermore, it is practically'impossible in the operation of such conveyer to maintain the samelengthand load upon each of the runs of the carrying and supporting chains.This tends to distort the pans and throws unequal stresses on thechains. This distortion is also objectionable as it throws the uppersurfaces of the pans out of a true plane and thereby forms upstandingedges or shoulders pre- My these difficulties by providing a conveyer inwhich the pans are formed 1n two or more separate Sections transversely,these sections being connected to the carrying and supporting chains ina manner which will permit of horizontal and vertical movements of thepans relative tothe chains.

My invention also provides means whereby a proper arrangement ofsupporting wheels may be placed underneath the intermediate portions ofthe pans and be maintained in contact upon the tracks upon which theytravel. .i

Referring t the accompanying drawings in which I have shown a preferredembodiment of my invention, the numeral 2 designates the frame of theleei` which may be of any usual or desired construction, my in- -ventionbeing applicable to various types of leers but having nothing to do withthe construction' of the leer itself.

invention is designed to overcome In. the particular construction whichIA have shown, each of the leer pans is divided into two sections 3 and4, these sections being carried upon the threeA runs of chain 5, 6 and7. These runs may be of any usual construction, the links thereofcarrying suit-l able journals for the wheels 8, which travelv on thechannel tracks 9.

The pan sections 3 and 4 are secured to the horizontally directedflanges 10 of the chain links, by means which will permit the pansections to adjust themselves, both horizontally and vertically withrespect to the chains.V In the particular construction shown, each ofthese fastenings comprises a screw bolt`11 whose head is seated in acountersunk depression 12 of the pan, this counter-sunk portion 12fitting loosely within a conical shown in Figures 3 and 5.. These screwbolts are 7secured by the nuts 14.

It will be readily seen that this mode of attachment permits quite aconsiderable movement ofI the pan sections horizontally with referenceto each other, as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 6; .and italso permits a' relative vertical movement between the pan sections andthe chains.

In practice it is impossible to keep the three chains 5, 6 and 7 ofexactly the same length, the result being that with single jltransversely extending pans, the chains exert venting the charging ofarticles 1nto the leer. a varying .pull upon the pans. lin Figure 7 110opening 13 formed in the flange 10, as clearly it will be noted that asthese sections pass from the driving wheels 15 to the idler wheels 16,the sections of each pair assume an increasing angularity with respectto each other, this movement compensating for the varying lengths of thedifferent runs of chain, and enabling the maintenance of uniform loadconditions as pointed out.

My invention provides a leer conveyer which can be used in leers of anyydesired Width, each pan being formed in as many sections as may bedesired. The, invention greatly improves the operation of the leer byinsuring proper movement ofthe conveyer at all times, and also greatlyincreases the life of the conveyer.' A

I donot wish to limit myself to the particular construction which I haveherein shown and described, as it will be manifest that various changescan be made in the construction of the runs, the form and'shape of" thepans, and in the manner 0f attaching the "pans to the runs, without`departing from the spiritand scope of my invention as defined in theappended claims.

I claim:

1. A leer conveyer having pans vwhich are formed in separate transversesections, and a common supporting chain to which the inner end of each`pan section is connected, substantially as described.

2; A leer conveyer having pans which are formed in' separate transversesections, and supporting 'chains towhich each end of each pan section isconnected, the connections between the pans and the chains having meansfor permitting the pan sections to move relatively to the chains,substantially .as described. l

3. A leer conveyer having pans which are formed in separate transversesections, and supporting chains to which each end of each pan section isconnected, the connections between the pans and the chains having meansfor permitting the pan sections to move relatively to the chains in botha horizontal and a vertical direction, substantially as described. V

4. A leer conveyer having pans which are formed in separate transversesections, and

supporting chains to which each end of each pan\section is connected,the connections between the pans and the chains having vmeans forpermitting the pan sections to moverelatively to the chains, the ends ofadjacent pari sections being connected to a chain which is common toboth sections, substantially as described. A

5. A leer conveyer comprising a plurality l of carrying and' supportingchains, pans carried by said chains and fastening devices for connectingthe pans to the chains, said devices having sufiicient play to permitthe pans to move relatively to the chains in both avertical vand ahorizontal direction, substantially as described.

6. A leer conveyer comprising a plurality of carrying and supportingchains, pans carried by said chains and fastening devices for connectingthe pans to the chains, said devices having suiiicient play to permittheJ pans t0 move relatively to the chains in both a vertical and ahorizontal direction, each l of said pans being formed in a pluralityof` separate sections, substantially as described.

7. In combination, a leer, and a vheat resisting conveye therein, saidconveyer having its pans fo med in separate transverse sectionsrelatively m/ovable to different angular positions, substantially asdescribed.

8. In combination, a leer, and a conveyer therein, said conveyer havingits pans formed in separate relatively movable transverse sections withadjacent ends of said sections secured to a common means, substantiallyas described. 4

9. In combination, a leer, a conveyer comprising carrying chains mountedtherein, and sectional pans loosely secured to said chains t0 permitrelative horizontal and ver` tical movement of the pans, substantiallyas p described.

10. `n'l combination, a leer, a conveyer therefor comprising at leastthree flexible runs, means for driving said runs, and a plurality oftransversely divided supporting members flexibly secured to said runs topermit relative angular movement therebetween whereby all of the runsmay be-maintained under substantially the same load, substantially asdescribed.

11. A conveyer comprising at least 'three flexible runs, means fordriving said runs, and a plurality of transversely divided supportingmembers secured to said runs to permit relative. vertical and horizontalmovement between said-members and runs whereby all of the runs may bemaintained underl substantially the same load, substantially asdescribed.

12. In combination, a leer, ya conveyer therefor comprising at leastthree flexible runs, means for driving said runs, and a plurality oftransversely divided support- WALTER n. STERRETT.

